The appeal against the refusal of the application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 has been allowed. The council’s case and appeal decision are available.

The main issues are the effects of the proposal on highway safety and the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers, with particular regard to noise and disturbance.

Local residents are concerned that the presence of the test centre has attracted an increased number of learner drivers to use the roads around the hotel to practice. A significant number of local residents refer to concerns about highway safety, inconvenience caused by cars moving slowly and manoeuvring into private drives, congestion, noise, disturbance and pollution from vehicle emissions. However, the Planning Inspectorate says the extent and timing of this activity is beyond the appellant’s control and results from the character of the roads themselves being conducive to driving practice, rather than the presence of the test centre. Furthermore, the highway authority has advised that there have been no reported accidents in the area since the test centre has operated from the hotel. This has been corroborated by published accident data submitted by the appellant. Nor is there any record of the test centre receiving complaints.

The current proposal is also for a limited period of time. It would continue to operate from the hotel for considerably less than six months from the date of the decision.

Taking all of the considerations together, the Planning Inspectorate finds that the appeal proposal would not be detrimental to highway safety. Its benefits outweigh the limited, temporary harm as a result of inconvenience to road users and its effect on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers from noise, disturbance and pollution.

A condition to control the times of operation of the use would safeguard the living conditions of nearby occupiers. Thus they have reinstated the restriction on Sunday operating which was included in the original permission. A condition requiring the use to cease on or before 31 March 2019 is necessary, since that is the basis of the assessment in this decision, and any additional period would require further justification.

Bromley Court Hotel upgrade– Update – 11 September2018

A planning application, ref. No. 18/03635/DET, has been made with details of –

access,

appearance and

landscaping

for the outline component of hybrid planning permission ref. 15/02452/FULL1 (granted for demolition of the existing plant rooms and refurbishment of the existing hotel including part one/three/four/five storey extensions and elevational alterations to provide function room, meeting rooms, beauty salon, kitchens, additional bedrooms, energy centre, staff accommodation and offices together with Outline Planning Application for the erection of a new leisure centre (including gym, activity room and swimming pool) (outline application for approval of layout and scale) as well as alterations to the existing access and increased parking provision (total 92 spaces)) at Bromley Court Hotel Coniston Road Bromley BR1 4JD.

The standard consultation expiry date is Tuesday 2 October 2018.

Bromley Court Hotel upgrade– Update – 17 August 2018

A planning application, ref. No. 15/02452/CONDIT, has been made with details of conditions submitted in relation to planning permission ref. 15/02452/FULL1:

The refusal of the application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 has been appealed.

The full statement of case is buried deep within the file. The grounds of appeal by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are as follows:

The proposals are acceptable.

The proposals are policy compliant.

The principle of the driving test centre has been previously established via the previously consented scheme (17/00422/FULL2).

The test centre has operated since that time without harmful impact over the last 15 months.

There is no evidence of any traffic/pedestrian accidents in the area.

The objections raised to the application confuse it [sic] operation with the separate activities of driver instruction which do and will take place in the area irrespective of the presence of the test centre.

The driving test route does not use local roads and so vehicles will not pass the properties of nearby neighbours;

The use is only for a temporary period, albeit a longer temporary period than initially envisaged.

There is a local need for the test centre to meet demand for driving tests.

The application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 has been refused.

The continued use of the site as a driving test centre, by reason of noise and increase in vehicular activity, would result in a detrimental impact upon the amenities of nearby neighbours and would compromise road safety in the area.

The application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 will be discussed by Plans Sub-Committee No. 2 on Thursday 8 February 2018.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's Property Surveyor (South) made representations in support of the application on 31 January 2018:

Uncertainty regarding the permanent driving test centre in Bromley

Regarding the replacement property in Bromley, we can confirm that we are making significant progress on lease terms and finalising the designs for the proposed driving test centre. As part of the application we submitted a proposed schedule for the permanent driving test centre, and are committed to having the permanent property up and running well before the end of the year.

Increase in traffic and congestion along Coniston Road

The staff at Bromley Court Hotel have not raised any concerns regarding congestion and traffic along Coniston Road, and nor have they received any direct concerns from local residents. The driving test centre has [6 examiners] that each conduct [7 tests] per day (maximum) between the testing hours of 0800 and 1700, thus the total maximum amount of tests at the centre per day is 42. Breaking this down further, there are a maximum of 5 tests per hour, hence this is the amount of traffic on at any one time along Coniston Road. No other learner drivers should be present at Bromley Court Hotel, given that you need a formal test appointment. We would also like to note that the highways officer has not raised any objections to the proposal.

Inappropriate learner / instructor movements

The staff at Bromley Court Hotel have not had received any complaints regarding inappropriate learner / instructor movements. The Approved Driving Instructors are highly qualified and are trained to not conduct inappropriate testing manoeuvres that would impact residents or cause harm to any other road users. We are, however, happy to put up notices in the waiting room for local driving instructors that will raise awareness of the issue and we can also discuss the issue at a Local Driving Test Manager (LDTM) surgery in the upcoming months.

Concerns regarding pedestrian safety

There have been no accidents reported or any concerns of pedestrian safety reported to any of the staff at Bromley Court Hotel. We would just like to highlight that all driving examiners and instructors are highly qualified and are trained in relation to pedestrian safety. Also, since the original application was approved in April 2017 we can confirm that there has not been any vehicle related or pedestrian collision accidents at the site or on Coniston Road.

Residents' cars being damaged

Similarly, no reports have been received from residents in regards to car damage. However, the examiners at Bromley Court Hotel would only be aware of residents' cars being hit if it occurred whilst they were in the vehicle during the driving test itself or if the residents had raised concerns if these have occurred during lessons preparing for their test with their instructors. Nevertheless, this is not relevant to the application in question.

An additional document from the file of Plans Sub-Committee No. 2 recommends that the application should be approved. Nearby owners/occupiers were notified of the application and objections were received which can be summarised as follows:

Concern raised in respect to the increase in vehicle movements and parking and general congestion on surrounding highway network.

Car parking for the hotel use is diminished by the proposal and further development of the hotel should provide suitable car parking.

Vehicle test manoeuvres on Coniston Road already add to the parking and highway safety issues on the road.

Additional 12 month consent would detract from neighbouring amenities and would create a further degree of permanence in the absence of a replacement facility. Concern is raised that the use may be permanent and not temporary as applied for.

Increase in noise, disturbance and pollution.

The location is inappropriate for such a use, impacting on a large number of local residents.

The use was already operating at the hotel prior to the grant of planning permission.

Notification of the application has not included the entirety of Coniston Road residents.

However, in the recommendation, it is considered that the siting, size and design of the proposal is acceptable in that it does not result in a significant loss of amenity to local residents nor impact detrimentally on the character of the area. No impact on highway safety results from the proposal.

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – Update – 25 January 2018

The application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel until 31 March 2019 is pending decision. It will be discussed in committee on Thursday 8 February 2018.

Many objections have been submitted, including a resubmission of the petition (unfortunately headed Bromley Court Hotel Diving Test Centre) signed by homeowners and residents of Coniston Road (over 90 per cent) and nearby roads considered to be affected by this proposal:

We the undersigned object to the planning application on the following grounds:-

The Centre is located inappropriately within an existing hotel business premises in a full residential road. We note that all other Test Centres located in Bromley borough and adjoining boroughs are located within main road commercial premises, or business park environments.

Road traffic has increased throughout Monday to Friday in Coniston Road since the opening of the Centre as a result of continuous driving tests and driving instructors giving lessons to learner drivers prior to actual tests.

Road traffic has increased on Saturday and Sunday as a result of driving instructors giving lessons to learner drivers and familiarising the learners as to the location and layout of the Centre and potential test routes.

The additional parking required within the hotel car park, and driving instructor cars awaiting the return from completed tests, creates an overspill of cars into Coniston Road throughout Monday to Friday. This situation is further aggravated by continuous parking of cars from the Beadles VW garage on Bromley Hill.

The roadway in Coniston Road is particularly narrow along most of its length and does not allow two cars to pass in many sections. The additional traffic will compromise general resident safety in this normally quiet road.

Learner drivers have been practicing [sic] test manoeuvres during driving lessons in Coniston Road adjacent to residents' parked cars, and across residents' drive ways. One incident has been witnessed where a learner driver came in contact with a parked car.

One resident says:

I have tried several times to send my comments re the above, but it is always sent back unopened, so I am writing instead as this is important.

In regard to this further application – I STRONGLY OBJECT to it being granted. It has made parking a big problem for residents of the road – Driving School cars often using spaces. The increase in numbers has made it dangerous. I am 76 years old and disabled and often have to cross the road from between parked cars. Often cars are going too fast, certainly more than the 20 mph limit in force at the bottom end. What does Lewisham Council think of this retrospective application?

I was also under the impression that Coniston Road was an Emergency Access Road, if this is the case, should it have this extra strain put on it? I think not!!

Again I STRONGLY OBJECT to the retrospective application being granted.

A single comment in support of the proposal has been submitted, by someone who saw no need to give an address.

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – Update – 22 December 2017

Temporary planning permission was granted on 10 April 2017 for the change of use of part of the Bromley Court Hotel as a driving test centre for a temporary 12 month period. The 2017 permission was subject to the condition that the use of part of the building as a vehicle licence testing centre should be limited for a period between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018 and should revert to the previous hotel use by this date.

A Section 73 application, ref. No. 17/05825/RECON, has now been submitted on behalf of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to vary Condition 5 (time limit) of planning permission ref. 17/00422/FULL2, to allow the driving test centre to remain at the temporary site at Bromley Court Hotel, until 31 March 2019.

DVSA are currently in fairly advanced negotiations to acquire a lease of a new premises in Bromley, on a 10 year fixed-term contract. The new location is within a one mile radius of the temporary driving test centre site at Bromley Court Hotel, and will ensure that DVSA would secure the continued provision of licence assessment to meet the level of demand experienced in the local area.

Additional time is required for the temporary driving test centre at Bromley Court Hotel to allow DVSA some contingency for any delays that may occur during the process, in order for DVSA to continue to maintain a service level provision to the local communities. Delays could occur within the negotiation stage of acquiring the premises and legally signing the agreement, owing to third party involvement. As well as this, the planning application process should have a statutory 8 weeks determination period as it will be a minor planning application, but concerns and issues may arise that can consequentially extend the statutory determination period.

Therefore, for these reasons DVSA consider that it is necessary that the Bromley Court Hotel original consent is extended for a full year, in order to give DVSA sufficient contingency for any delays that may arise throughout the process of acquirement of the permanent solution, planning application and suitable fit-out for occupation.

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – Update – 11 April 2017The application, ref. No. 17/00422/FULL2, for the change of use of part of the Bromley Court Hotel to a driving test centre (sui generis) for a temporary 12 month period has been permitted.

Nearby owners/occupiers were notified of the application and representations were received which can be summarised as follows:

One letter of general support received.

Concern raised in respect to the increase in vehicle movements and parking and general congestion on surrounding highway network

Car parking for the hotel use is diminished by the proposal and further development of the hotel should provide suitable car parking.

Vehicle test manoeuvres on Coniston Road would add to the parking and highway safety issues on the road.

The location is inappropriate for such a use, impacting on a large number of local residents.

The use is already operating at the hotel and should not be until planning permission is granted

Notification of the application has not included the entirety of Coniston Road residents.

Concern is raised that the proposed use will be permanent, not temporary as applied for.

The main issues relating to the application were the effect that it has on the character of the area and the impact that it has on the amenities of the occupants of surrounding residential properties. The impact on highway safety is also a consideration.

The proposal operates during daytime hours and is confined to the existing building and hotel car park. It is not considered that the development generates a degree of noise and disturbance that impacts harmfully on the amenities of neighbouring residential properties, with up to seven tests conducted daily from Monday to Friday only.

In regards to highway safety, it is considered that the provision of six car parking spaces does not impact harmfully. The use generates an additional level of traffic at the site. However, in light of the small number of tests occurring on a daily basis, this is not considered to impact on conditions of highway safety. The use of six of the existing car parking spaces for staff is also considered suitable for the use and does not result in a shortage of car parking for the remaining hotel staff and customers. The results of occupancy survey satisfactorily demonstrate that there will be no detrimental impacts to either the hotel's or DVSA's operations and there will be no overflow of parking on to Coniston Road or other neighbouring roads.

Having had regard to the above it was considered that the siting, size and design of the proposal is acceptable in that it does not result in a significant loss of amenity to local residents nor impact detrimentally on the character of the area. No impact on highway safety results from the proposal.

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – Update – 8 April 2017The application, ref. No. 17/00422/FULL2, for the change of use of part of the Bromley Court Hotel to a driving test centre (sui generis) for a temporary 12 month period is now pending decision.

Bromley’s Road Safety section has been receiving telephone calls from the residents of Coniston Road enquiring about the number of learner vehicles using this road and also concerned that Bromley Court Hotel was operating a Driving School. According to the residents the volume of traffic has increased dramatically.

Each time highways officers visited Bromley Court Hotel they have found the car park fully occupied. There is concern that the car park does not have the capacity to accommodate any cars from any additional activity, so they said they would still like to see an occupancy survey, i.e. actual number of cars parked in the hotel car park between 1000 hours to 1200 hours and then between 1300 hours and 1500 hours on any two busy weekdays for the hotel.

The applicants have now provided the survey requested (including percentages against the 82 total car parking spaces available expressed to four significant figures).

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – Update – 7 March 2017The application, ref. No.17/00422/FULL2, for the change of use of part of the Bromley Court Hotel to a driving test centre (sui generis) for a temporary 12 month period has now been marked:

RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION

The driving test centre opened on 30 January 2017, and tests have been available to book since 16 January 2017.

The neighbour consultation expiry date is still Monday 13 March 2017.

Bromley Court Hotel driving test centre – 20 February 2017

A new application, ref. No. 17/00422/FULL2, has been made for the change of use of part of the Bromley Court Hotel to a driving test centre (sui generis) for a temporary 12 month period. The structure of the proposed testing is set out below:

Test candidates and their instructor would enter the site via Coniston Road in their vehicle. The examiner would then swap places with the instructor.

The car exits the site via Coniston Road to undertake the driving test, which takes up to 1 hour.

The test would end on site or on nearby Coniston Road. De-brief would follow.

On completion of the test, the candidate and instructor will leave and the examiner will use the identified office space to write up the test reports.

The wider premises are in use as a hotel. This application refers to the temporary change of use of part of the site only from C1 Hotel use to sui generis use for Driving Test Centre purposes for a period of 6 months initially, after which it will be reviewed with a view to extending the arrangement. The justification for this use is to meet local need/demand. The proposed number of tests would be limited to 6 examiners each undertaking 7 tests per day (maximum).

The proposal is said to benefit the local economy by allowing the testing facility to increase the numbers of tests being carried out and facilitate the additional employment of testing staff in the local area. No internal or external changes are proposed as a result of these proposals.

The Planning Statement is available. The neighbour consultation expiry date is Monday 13 March 2017.

Update – 24 October 2015The hybrid planning application, No. 15/02452,has been granted subject to various conditions (thirty-seven in total). See the decision.

Proposed penthouse suite with hot tub in tower

Update – 6 October 2015The following additional documents are now available from the Bromley planning website on planning application, No. 15/02452:

Full Planning Permission for demolition of the existing plant rooms and refurbishment of the existing hotel including part one storey / three storey / four storey / five storey extensions and elevational alterations to provide function room, meeting rooms, beauty salon, kitchens, additional bedrooms, energy centre, staff accommodation and offices; together with

Outline Planning Permission for the erection of a new leisure centre (including gym, activity room and swimming pool) as well as alterations to the existing access and increased parking provision (total 92 spaces)

has been made for the Bromley Court Hotel, Coniston Road, Bromley BR1 4JD. The following fifty-one documents are available from the Bromley planning website:

I am writing to advise you of a public exhibition that we are holding in the The Ravensbourne Room at the Hotel between the hours of 2.00pm and 7.00pm on Friday, 27th March 2015, and 10.00a.m to 1.30pm on Saturday, 28th March 2015.

The purpose of the exhibition is to provide information about our proposals to extend, upgrade and enhance the Hotel. Although the proposals will involve only a small increase in the number of guest rooms, they will involve extensions to the entrance lobby and foyer; the meeting and function rooms and the leisure, swimming and changing facilities.

Illustrations of what is proposed will be on display at the exhibition and members of the Hotel and Project Team will be in attendance to answer queries and assist in providing further information.

Local residents have been notified of the public exhibition.

I hope that this may also be of interest to your Members.

If you considered that it would be useful for us to attend the next meeting of the RVPS to present the proposals, please let me know and we can organise this.